Sudbury Town Manager clarifies Broadacres purchase

By Melissa Rodrigues, Town Manager

Monday

Oct 22, 2018 at 10:31 AMOct 22, 2018 at 10:34 AM

Dear Editor,

In response to the Opinion piece in the October 15 online version of the paper, I hope to clarify how a debt exclusion works. The opinion piece stated that the Broadacres purchase would result in “never to decline taxes.” This simply is not true.

Broadacres is proposed to be purchased partially through debt, which requires a debt exclusion. A debt exclusion, while still technically a Proposition 2 ½ override, is a temporary increase to your tax bill, while an operating override is a permanent increase. A debt exclusion finances a particular project, like the acquisition of Broadacres Farm, and your taxes increase for a period of time, twenty years in this instance, to cover the cost of the project. When the financing is paid off, your tax increase for the project ends.

A yes vote at the November 6 election allows the Town to use exempt debt to fund a project. There is no dollar amount in the ballot question because the ballot question was due before Town Meeting. The Town meeting appropriated a specific dollar amount for the acquisition, and the amount authorized at the ballot will not exceed the amount authorized at Town Meeting. A no vote at Town Meeting means the Town cannot exclude the debt from the levy, and would not be able to purchase Broadacres Farm.